As I mentioned in the last post, we made our way back to town after Table Rock Lake. Mamaw & Papaw took Beccah & Mattie and went swimming. Me, Keith, ELizabeth & Nathallie went to Fudruckers, a wonderfully fun resteraunt - but, with a little sting to our pocketbook! Then off to the Titanic Museum. The Titanic Museum was very emotional for all of us. You can read more about it at the Titanic Branson Site. I hope the next time you are in Branson that you take time to visit this museum! I would rather go to museums or the free historical adventures in Branson, rather than the shows. Nothing against the wonderful, first rate shows that Branson is famous for...it's just not my cup-o-tea! :o) That's what I like about Branson, there's something for everyone!
O.K., First, About The Titanic Museum.
The museum itself is in the shape of The Titanic and is half the scale of the actual size.
The brochure says it is a 90 minute walk through tour of the museum. Well, thats true, if you rent their audio tour assistant for less than $10. We did not rent this and opted to go it alone. So, it took us almost three hours to wind our way through, as we read everything! Each of us just soaked in the rich history of this fatal event. Before entry onto the ship, through an iceberg, we were greeted by an Irish or British speaking matron who was dressed in typical White Star Line-Titanic attire. She assigned us boarding passes with "permission" and a huge welcome to come aboard White Star Line's finest. She told us that if any of us had 3rd class tickets, we'd have to go by the doctors station to be checked for eye diseases, head lice or other repulsive conditions. Each of our passes had a name of an actual passenger, their stats, a short bio and what deck they stayed on.
This is the brochure we were given upon entrance to the ship.
These are our tickets. We were tickled that they gave a cut-rate deal. I think because the economy and business was down, they gave us a family deal for $30. Shoot! Can't beat that! That's less then $10 a person - and the tour was worth every penny!
These were our boarding passes. Each pass had a brief bio of the passenger. We were encouraged to look for their name, picture or any connection throughout the tour. At the end, we entered a room to see if they survived or perished.
Keith was assigned John William Gill, age 24. An Englishman from Congresburg, England. He was newly wed to Sarah Hodder. He left his bride in April and boarded as a Second Class passenger on Titanic. On the night of the sinking, John had already gone to bed when he noticed Titanics engines had stopped. He realized something was amiss, and put on "dark clothes" over his pajamas, as well as his gold watch and chain and went to discover what happened. He died in the sinking. His body was subsequently recovered from the sea by the cable-laying vessel MacKay Bennett (#155) on 23 April. He was buried at sea the following day.
I was assigned Irene Wallach Harris, age 35. 
Irene was a native of Washington D.C and married Henry B. Harris in 1898. A fun-loving, vivaciou woman, she served as an official advisor to herr husband in the world of New York City theater. Her husband greatly valued her opinions, commenting that women had better intuition concerning the success or failure of theater productions. The couple frequently traveled across the country and in Europe. In 1912, they were returning to New York as First Class passengers. On the night of the sinking, Irene suffered from great pain that resulted from a shoulder injury the day prior. When the ship's peril was obvious, Henry had to virtually carry Irene to teh boat deck where they were seen waiting together, arm in arm. She survived. Mrs Harris was rescued in Collapsible D. When she boarded the Carpathia she was accommodated in a cabin vacated by the artist Colin Campbell Cooper and his wife Emma. Mr Campbell would later record the rescue in two paintings.
Elizabeth was assigned Velin Ohman, age 22. Velin was a single woman from Mariestad, Sweden. She traveled by ship to England and boarded Titanic at Southhampton as a Third Class passenger. Ohman's grandfather gave herr the money for her ticket as a birthday gift. She claimed she was going to see her Uncle Henry Forsander in Chicago to find work as a domestic. However, Henry Forsander was not her uncle at all. He was the man she intended to marry. Her beautiful adorned purse is on display among the artifacts of the museum. She survived in Collapsible C where she shared her brandy with Hilda Maria Helstrom. The brandy helped calmed their nerves.
Nathallie was assigned Elisabeth Walton Allen, age 29. 
Elisabeth, a Missouri native, traveled in First Class with her aunt and cousin. She was in England to visit her fiancee, a British physician named James Mennell. Elisabeth was returning home to make final arrangements for moving to England. She shared a cabin with her cousin, Georgette Madill. On the night of the sinking, her aunt's maid, Emilie Kreuchen, told her about flooding in the baggage hold. Elisabeth thought little of it and took no action until the maid returned to advise that her own cabin was flooding. The three relatives ascended to the boat deck where they witnessed a group of the ship's stokers attempting to enter a lifeboat befor being ordered out. She survived, escaped in lifeboat #2 with her aunt and cousin...one of the last boats to leave the Titanic and the first to be picked up by The Carpathia. Elisabeth was the first one to climb the ladder dangling from the Carpathis. Everyone else was afraid. She married and dies at the age of 85.
The artifacts were awe inspiring and brought on an emotional yank in our hearts. I was releived to discover that there was only one room talking about the motion picture and the efforts to raise the titanic. I think I would have been so dissappointed if they had peppered this museum with the movie. I'm glad they did not!
The welcome sign as you enter the park domain.
Papaw is excited as he gets the kids attention. Look! There's the tram comin' down the road!
Papaw enjoys the nice ride to the park.
Me and beccah on tram.
